Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system and method of environmental monitoring capable of detecting and more importantly predicting and preventing exposure to dangerous sound levels, and more particularly to cognitive systems that learns and recognizes patterns and outcomes to predict further sound exposure, and implements ameliorative actions chosen to reduce, remove, or eliminate exposure risks.
Description of the Related Art
Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) can be caused by a one-time exposure to a loud sound as well as by repeated exposure to sounds at various loudness levels over an extended period of time. This level of exposure may be reached in typical industrial settings. Noise levels may be generated by machinery and equipment in a variety of industries.
Workers may routinely be instructed to wear personal protective equipment that includes hearing protection, but such routine instructions are typically not predictive and do not usually customize the level of hearing protection for the actual worker and the actual environment. Workers may ignore such routine instructions, and even if followed may provide under or over protection. It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a way of reducing noise induced hearing loss.